How embracing Emirati values can support conservation efforts

Before the UAE’s cosmopolitan success, the country’s landscape largely consisted of a rich desert and diverse marine ecosystems including mangroves, coral reefs and seagrass beds. These natural elements have long served as providers, acting as sources of protein, wealth and fresh water for our forefathers.

The Arabian Gulf’s biodiversity, marked by an abundance of fish and pearls, enabled marine habitats to flourish as central ecosystems. These underwater sanctuaries have gone on to support a variety of marine life, including dugongs – crucial mammals that contribute to the local marine ecosystem.

As we mark the occasion of World Nature Conservation Day, we should reflect on the nation’s growth and continuing success on account of its unique resources while keeping in mind the implications of their unrestrained or unsustainable use. The relationship between nature and economic growth must be synergistic, ensuring that a careful balance is struck between cultural development and environmental conservation.

Emirati culture has played a pivotal role in shaping the country’s approach to tourism, hospitality and sustainability. Built on traditional Arabic and Islamic principles, the UAE's culture emphasises tolerance, cohesion and solidarity, reflecting the values of its seafaring and nomadic ancestors who navigated harsh environments and developed a unique appreciation for maritime culture.

These sentiments continue to guide our collective decision making and long-term vision for the environment, as we are reminded of the life-giving nature of these ecosystems and the fundamental role they have played in the UAE’s development.

Although proactive environmental action is a strategic step forward, it is also driven by the passion of experts and the need to conserve, protect and restore existing resources. However, we must prioritise conservation to safeguard existing habitats before moving to restoration or renewal plans.

One of the UAE's most efficient initiatives is conservation through nature-based solutions, leveraging the natural world to sustainably address environmental challenges, preserve biodiversity and build resilience against climate change and human impacts on marine ecosystems. Given the region’s arid climate, limited freshwater resources and rapidly expanding urban areas, solutions such as mangrove restoration, coral reef protection and desert conservation offer a holistic approach to environmental and cultural preservation.

In the context of the UAE, this includes its mangrove restoration project, estimated to cover more than 150 kilometres of coastline. Mangroves are complex yet essential plants that have earned their “green lungs of the Earth” nickname for their incredible capacity to filter the air we breathe. On average, they are capable of absorbing and storing five times more carbon per area than tropical forests and more than 10 times the amount of carbon compared to terrestrial trees.

These “green lungs” reach maturity in about 20 to 25 years, becoming more effective at sequestering carbon dioxide and storing it in the surrounding soil and salt marshes. Unlike terrestrial trees, this carbon is not released back into the atmosphere, effectively reducing greenhouse gases, mitigating the UAE’s carbon footprint and advancing our efforts to achieve net-zero emissions.

Older mangroves sequester even more carbon, sometimes doubling carbon stocks, making conservation essential for these populations to reach maturity. Planting and restoration efforts are also crucial for maintaining population numbers. It is also worth noting that mangroves do not act independently but relate to coral and seagrass populations through energy and nutrient transfers, emphasising the need for comprehensive protection to promote carbon capture and maintain their natural states.

Recognising the importance of mangrove restoration, industry experts have introduced innovative technologies to streamline processes. For instance, drones are now used to support mangrove planting, efficiently spreading seeds across large areas, turning a months-long process into one completed in days or hours. The transition also eliminates costs, along with time and effort, resulting in a truly revolutionary approach to mangrove plantation. In recent years, for example, Abu Dhabi has successfully planted 1.2 million mangrove seeds using drone technology, something that has been recognised as an innovative initiative by the World Economic Forum.

A second innovation – satellite imagery – also plays a key role in the advancement of conservation methods. Using the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index, which measures the greenness and density of vegetation, experts can assess overall plant health and pinpoint any anomalous behaviours in intertidal mangrove forests.

Coral monitoring is another method of measuring biodiversity and health in marine ecosystems. The process leverages AI to filter through a database of images and feed relevant photos into a system that has been trained by scientists to identify healthy, dead and bleached corals. In addition to monitoring corals, Abu Dhabi is hosting one of the region's largest coral restoration projects, led by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi. This is aimed at restoring these fragile habitats, enhancing coral reefs in the region, and supporting overall marine biodiversity and resilience.

The initiative involves collecting coral fragments from the most resilient corals in the region, while ensuring a genetic diversity is maintained, nurturing them in specialised nurseries and transplanting them back to degraded reef sites.

Currently, the UAE contains about 2,999 square kilometres of seagrass with three distinct species. These colonies provide nurseries for small fish, cater to the world’s second-largest population of dugongs – approximately 3,000 – and a foraging green-turtle population that is native to Abu Dhabi. These seagrass meadows are the unsung heroes of climate change, and it is believed that they store significant amounts of carbon, sequestering about 10 per cent of the carbon buried in ocean sediment annually, making them vital to supporting the longevity of dwindling marine species.

This is why the UAE is committed to protecting and restoring these habitats, aligning with its national vision for a green economy and more resilient society. By investing in nature-based solutions which are not only environmentally beneficial but also economically and socially advantageous, the UAE fosters innovation, creates green jobs and ensures a sustainable future, positioning itself as a global leader in sustainable development.

The UAE’s unique marine habitats serve as a living laboratory for studying the effects of climate change on marine life, attracting international scientists who seek to understand shifting climate patterns. The UAE's commitment to sharing knowledge is evident in the launch of the first-ever International Mangrove Conservation and Restoration Conference, organised and hosted by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi under the framework of the Abu Dhabi Mangrove Initiative. This will bring together global experts to focus on holistic restoration and climate mitigation through nature-based solutions.

As the UAE emerges from the successful conclusion of Cop28 last year, following the achievement of significant milestones across climate and biodiversity agendas, the nation remains dedicated to the protection, preservation and promotion of its natural landscape. Our dedication to the environment spans decades, with UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan writing in a 1991 letter that effort, time and money would be poured into the conservation of habitats and trees, and that any development needed to be done with consideration of the surrounding landscape.

This unwavering affinity for nature remains today, driven by our cultural instinct to give back in every way – including giving back to the world around us. The land and sea take care of us, so we take care of the land and sea. That is how we serve this country best.